On Wednesday 10
July, 6 members of the committee of the BFCSA, met with
Vic Lyon and Graham Beattie, Director of Environmental
Services.

They were Steve Percy,
Mark Ashfield, David Davis, Terry Hufford, Alex Jones and
Geoff Masters. This meeting had been requested by us
several weeks ago and before the announcement of the
debate on Tuesday.

There was little new
information and Mr Lyon went over the issues debated the
previous evening. He acknowledged the good behaviour of
the Barnet fans that turned up at the Town Hall.

The key issue is the
Green Belt. It is Conservative policy to preserve this
and hence it remains the stumbling block. As indicated on
Tuesday, Mr Lyon will sympathetically consider any plans
to upgrade Underhill but said he could not do this until
the Club submits a new planning application. He would use
his influence to speed up the process including
consultation.

There was Conservative
support for a "small intrusion" into Green Belt
to the south, in line with the "plan" released
by the last Council towards the end of 2000. It was
pointed out that the existing 8-foot slope becomes a
bigger problem because of the drop from the south of the
ground into the cricket pitch. It was also pointed out to
Mr Lyon that the Conference has a deadline of 2004 for
bringing the stadium upto League standard.

In respect of the draft
UDP (that includes de-designation of Underhill), Mr Lyon
stated that this needs consultation and is subject to
review by the GLA and Government Office for London.

He was reminded that
notwithstanding any improvements to the existing
Underhill site, a long-term solution is needed. He again
confirmed that there would be a further review of all
potential sites in the Borough.